In Photos: Clashes Between Elephants and Humans

Electrified fences are currently the only viable method to keep elephants away from houses and villages, and they do not harm the animals. But elephants can even learn to overcome this barrier, using their insulating tusks or a tree to cross the fence.
Photograph: Silvia Boccardi

Wild elephants in Minneriya national park. Between August and September more than 300 gather here every day.
Photograph: Silvia Boccardi

The wild elephants are drawn to water reserves in the park which are hard to find during the dry season.
Photograph: Silvia Boccardi

Men use bengalas – flares – to scare elephants away from the houses. They don’t always work though: hungry elephants are hard to scare and get easily used to this technique.
Photograph: Silvia Boccardi